john crawford said:
If, as you claim, political power corrupts, why should Christians tolerate any corrupt political power over them which, as you say, defiles the heart of the Christian message? Advising Christians not to vote for Christian politicians amounts to a guarantee of political suppression of Christians by corrupt non-Christian politicians. Since secular and atheistic politics are corrupt, by your own definition and admission, why should any Christian vote for atheistic or secular policies unless they are politically schizophrenic?
1. I assert only that the seeking of political power by Christians for Christian evangelical purposes will result in the necessary corruption of the Gospel message.
2. A Christian cannot be a politician. The values of Christianity and the values of politics are diametrically opposed to one another. There is no reconciliation. There is not such thing as a Christian politician. This is the one case in which I am willing to seriously assert on a general basis that a Christian is being deceived, especially self-deceived.
3. The true strength of Christianity is revealed when it is in 'exile.' The further The Church is away from the center of political power, the closer it is to realizing and expressing its deepest meaning and bestowing its greatest blessings.
4. I neither asserted anything about the corruptness of politics in general, nor the corruptness of secular or atheistic politics in particular. I said that political power corrupts and defiles the heart of the Christian message. My words are purposeful and chosen with intent.
There are many Christians who 'tolerate' corrupt governments who oppress them. Each week my church prays for an oppressed Christian in a foreign nation. They are tortured, imprisoned, beaten, isolated from their families and friends, prevented from accessing adequate legal representation, health care, food, water, you get the picture. These people can do nothing about their situation, except rely on the grace of God and prayers of their fellow Christians. Yet they remain steadfast in their faith. I think to a person all of those few who eventually find their freedom go right back to what they were doing that got them in trouble in the first place - loving God, worshipping Him, evangelizing in His name and waiting for His return.
In all of these cases these Christians are completely politically disenfranchised.
Yet their ministies are powerful.
They make a powerful witness to the fact that Christianity does not need political power in order to survive and thrive.
As a counterpoint, the entanglement of Christianity with US politics bears witness as to how misguided and jaded the church and its members can become when they begin to take such blessings for granted.